Improvement in stirrups



H. M. HOLLIN-GSWORTH. Stirrup.

No. 196,900. Patented Nov. 6,1877.

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4 fi ATTORNEYS N-PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER WASHlNGTON, D C- UNITED STATES PATENT Orrxon HARVEY HOLLINGSWORTH, OF CLINTON, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN STI RRUPS.

Specification forming partof Letters Patent No. 196,900, dated November 6, 1877; application filed September 22, 1877.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, HARVEY M. HOLLINGS- WORTH, of Clinton, in the county of Anderson and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Stirrups; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a transverse vertical section of my stirrup,

and Fig. 2 is a front view of the same.

My invention relates to stirrups for ridingsaddles and it consists in an attachment to the same which will be automatically operated to release the leather from the stirrup-leather in case the rider should be thrown from the horse and the foot of the rider hang in the stirrup, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

The annexed drawing, to which reference is made, fully illustrates my invention.

A represents an ordinary stirrup for ridin gsaddles, provided at the top with a cross bar or block, B, of any suitable form or shape. Around this cross-bar is passed a clamp made of two parts or jaws, O and G The jaw G is formed at its upper end with a loop, 0 in which the stirrup leather or strap is fastened in any suitable manner. Below said loop in the upper end of the jaw O is pivoted or hinged the jaw 0 the two jaws meeting on the under side of the cross-bar B, as shown.

To the jaw O is hinged, on the outside, a

- strap or link, D, which overlaps the joint between the two jaws, and is fastened, by a spring-catch, G, pivoted between ears on the jaw G, and the upper end of said catch passes through a loop or staple, E, attached to, and projecting outward from, said jaw. Through this loop is passed a notched bar, I, of such dimensions that it will be supported in either one of its notches upon the upper end of the catch G, and any upward movement of said bar will turn the spring-catch in such a manner as to release the same from the strap or link D, which will then fall down and allow the-two jaws O O of the clamp to separate.

The lower end of the bar I is forked, and the prongs fastened in or to a cross-bar, J, which is held to the side of the stirrup by suitable guides L L, fastened to the same.

The parts being adjusted as described, if the rider should be thrown from the horse and either foot hang in the stirrup, the foot will nattually raise the cross-bar J, and with it the bar I, and this at once releases the stirrup from the stirrup-strap, as described, thus preventing the rider from being dragged along by the horse.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a stirrup, a clamp for connecting the same with the stirrup-strap, a catch for holding the clamp closed, and a device for automatically releasing said catch, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with a stirrup, the clamp O O, strap or link D, spring-catch G, notched bar I, and cross-bar J, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two'witnesses.

. HARVEY MILTON HOLLINGSWORTH. Witnesses:

J. S. Ross,

E. A. Ross. 

